April in Paris

It was last year, after moving to Lyon, when a decision was made with my friend that every year around my birthday, we would meet in Paris, just for one or two nights, with no particular plan, no grand ideas, no expectations, other than to have some drinks, eat well, and be happy. So, at the end of April, we arrived in Paris. Me from Lyon and she from Latvia, coming blank as a paper, letting me share my love for Paris, taking her through the places so unknown or unpopular most of the time, as Paris is not just about those large monuments and widest streets. Paris in April is so much more.

“April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom
Holiday tables under the trees
April in Paris, this is a feeling
No one can ever reprise”

With chestnuts and roses blooming, the first elderflowers opening, and some of the irises so graciously standing tall in the wind, with rain too frequent, we, planning to walk so much, sat much more, enjoying the warmth of different restaurants and cafés, pretending not to feel that wind blowing through the gaps between walls and windows, so common in Paris.

It was at the Grand Café d’Athènes on a Monday evening that, in a restaurant packed to the brim of the edge, we started our trip with generous plates of tzatziki, tarama, pita bread, fries, and salads, leaving no room for dessert, yet allowing a room to wash it down with a glass of Greek red wine, falling sound asleep.

The next day, arriving much sunnier than promised, was unusually crisp for an April day. Instead of walking, an Uber took us to Fringe, where we managed to gracefully enjoy our oat cappuccinos and their very famous granola just in time to arrive at the Rose Donald Paris (Passage de l’Ancre) for a rose placenta keratin procedure. One and a half hours and much silkier hair later, we stopped at Sézane, enjoyed the smell and shopping at local bookshops, and a break in Le Café Noir (Île Saint-Louis) so needed after shopping at a second-generation stone shop (with the largest collection of meteorites in France) Carion Minéraux.

But there was a plan on this no-plan day. There were a few actually — to buy fragrance at the very old and iconic Officine Universelle Buly 1803, explore the world of pepper and spices at Le Comptoir des Poivres, sit down for a meal at Saint Pearl, do some shopping at Le Bon Marché, and finally, revisit one of the most magical places in Paris, Musée Rodin, where time stands still, sun shines through windows very differently and the garden is an oasis to hide into. With blooming roses, lilacs, and almost uncomfortable tranquillity, it was time to leave, as the museum closed, and, not too long after, a reservation at La Poule au Pot was made for a very Bourguignon dinner experience.

It was the day after when, while dressing for La Galerie Dior visit, I discovered a cancellation I was not aware of. The abandoned very much awaited experience was so shocking, we needed a while to take it in and decided to do what we loved the best — eat and drink, taking our breakfast at the ever so special Cuppa, just on the other side of Musée d’Orsay. Crossing the bridge on our way back, the wind was even too brutal, so it was even necessary to disappear in Jardin des Tuileries, pretending not to notice the preparation works for the Olympic Games, looking the other way where flowers and trees bloomed like nothing was different.

With a few hours left, not only we had to hide from the rain but the wind as well, so it was only logical to find ourselves walking on the mirrors at the Bourse de Commerce, exploring the Pinault Collection exhibition space, having coffee at the very famous Partisan Café and finishing our trip with a meal at Brasserie Dubillot.

After the kisses and hugs of goodbye, my train in no hurry to leave, and a list of things to buy, I did manage to get at least the main one — Japanese style pain de mie (sandwich bread) in Carré boulangerie, as further shopping was interrupted by a stop at the Artefact. A few cups of tea, talks, one new teacup, and 200 grams of tea to take with me later, I left in peace, as all was done. I crossed off two things from my list — the time spent with a friend and a bag of bread to take home.